Of Damaged Souls
by Crimson-Red Fawkes
Summary: Everything is fine in this pizzeria, right? The children are running around and having a good time, and even the adults are enjoying themselves. Those wearing suits, however, tell a different story. The worst part? No one will ever listen to them.
1. The First of a Few

"Ugh! Mom, did I _have_ come with you?" he moaned.

"Yes honey," she replied, a cheerful voice with a pin-prick of annoyance, "it is your sisters' birthdays after all. Besides, I used to take you to this place all the time. Don't you remember the fun you used to have in this place?"

"I might be able to," the boy half-spoke, half-mumbled, "if it didn't reek of grease and throw-up." The boy stared at the animatronics on the stage, part of him actually trying to remember what fun he had here, another part of him wanting the chuck them into a ditch and bury them, might they never be found again. The boy wore a dark pair of jeans and a jacket made of black vinyl. He was pale, to say the least with contradicting black hair that was longer than normal for most boys his age, sweeping it to the right. He looked different against everything else here, with even the floor and walls bearing some decorative pattern. He was a dot of gloom in a very large sea of joy and pizza and small children.

He was only here because his mother had made him, since his younger sisters both had to have their birthdays' here, of all places. He turned towards his mother, speaking very reluctantly.

"I'm gonna go use the restroom." He said, pointing across the room.

"Don't be long." His mother said. "Your sister is about to blow out her candles." The boy went into the restroom, washed his hands, and stood in the restroom, since there was nobody there at the time. He looked in the mirror and washed his face and stood in front of the sink, contemplating his life. As he left the bathroom, he looked around at all of the commotion in the pizza parlor. Children were running around, if not singing with the animatronics on stage, listening to Foxy over in Pirate Cove, or eating with other kids. Even the parents were having fun, either running around with their children or talking to the other parents here, sharing gossip.

"It's disgusting, isn't it?" said a voice beside the boy that made him jump a bit. A man wearing an outfit, much like those of the other employees, stood beside the boy. The outfit had more of a hue of purple than blue, and the man himself was quite creepy to be completely honest. He was tall and slinky-looking, with sullen eyes and a staid completion, his thin lips pressed in a thin line.

"All these little grease-stains running all over the place, inhaling junk food, or staring at the oversized dolls." The man said, staring at the wall across the restraunt. "Kid, this is what you're gonna have to do when you get older. Work in a disgusting place and get next to nothing for it." He looked over at me; his eyes were a light brown, but a horrid hue of such. It was like the inside of tree bark mixed with throw-up. He had a very sly look on his face, but he was able to blend it with a neutral expression, like it was a silhouette and nothing more.

"I'm only here 'cause of my sisters." The boy replied. He gave a smirk with his thin lips.

"Follow me." He said.

"I got some stuff backstage that might be little more your style kid." Out of complete boredom and curiosity, the boy followed him, although offset by the air surrounding him.

"Hey," said the boy, "I'm gonna go tell my mother. Don't want her to worry about me later." The man nodded to the boy and walked backstage. The boy ran over and updated his mother, after arguing a small bit about details, and then walked over to the backstage door. He opened it and walked inside. To say it was disturbing was and understatement. Animatronic heads were placed on the shelves, all of Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica. The boy was never able to tell whether Chica was a chicken or a duck. Either way, the thing was still creepy. And although he wasn't interested in the well-being of the animatronics, he never understood why the fox never got any affection by the employees. There wasn't a single fox head in the backstage area.

The boy wasn't able to think anything beyond that because he was too frantic about a gag being put over his mouth and a bag over his head. He thrashed about, trying to find something to hit. He was pulled back by the bag and heard a whisper.

"Stop trying to resist." said the whisper. "You can't beat me. You can't." After that was said, the boy was bludgeoned on the back of the neck with a breaking force. He blacked out seconds afterward.


	2. Prisoners

WARNING: LANGUAGE, BLOOD, AND DISTURBING CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER

DISCRETION IS ADVISED

-The boy awoke to a dim light from a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. His eyes were adjusting to his surroundings, and he had a horrible headache. It felt like someone had smashed his skull with a sledgehammer. He remembered the bag being put over his head and almost immediately turned frantic, not noticing the other three children near him. He tried to scream, but the gag made that pointless. He tried moving his hands and feet, only to find that they were tied to the chair he was sitting in. He decided to try and get a bearing on his surroundings. He looked around, and saw that he was in a basement or something close to it. The walls were concrete and chipped with some large splits in them. In front of him was a large meat grinder, and he quite frankly didn't want to see it at this point in time. He finally looked to see the other children surrounding him, all tied up as well. Two of them were female and one more male. One of the females was unconscious while both the other female and male were awake, also looking around distressed.

The unconscious female was tied to the ceiling with her wrists dangling from rope and a hook in the ceiling. She had looked to be about the same age as the boy. She had wavy blonde hair and had a piece of cloth around her eyes, but not her mouth. She was wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans with clean white shoes. She looked like a perfect child, to say the least.

The other female seemed older than the other female, yet younger than the other male. She had curly red hair and a few freckles on her face. Her hands had cuts on them like she was punching one of the walls, where ever they all were. Her red hair was met with her denim jacket and turquoise shirt, with jeans and black shoes. Her face was pale as she looked all around her, her sea green eyes darting around at everything. She had no blind or gag, and was tied to a chair, same as the boy.

Neither did the other male, who was probably the oldest one here. He had chocolate brown hair and a beautiful tan. He was quite scrawny though, and was tied to the wall. His eyes were a deep shade of blue and he was wearing a red t-shirt with khaki's and grey running shoes.

"Hey," whispered the red head, "where are we?"

"Hell if I know." replied the male

"Can you get your wrists out of the chains?" asked the female.

"You don't think I've already tried that?" said the male, slightly irritated. He shook the chains pinning him to the wall, but to no avail.

"Hey," said the female, "the other one's awake. Can you try to get out of the ropes?" the boy nodded and tried to wriggle his wrists from the rope. It hurt rubbing against the rope but he kept going until his wrists were raw. He shook his head, trying to tell them that he couldn't get out. The girl muttered under her breath and shook her chair in frustration.

The blonde started to groan as she regained consciousness. She tried moving her arms, and when she found out she couldn't began to grab the rope tying her to the ceiling.

"What is she doing?" asked the other female. The blonde swung back and forth from the rope until she was able to touch the ceiling with her feet. She fell from ceiling onto her back that winded her for a few seconds. She stood up and untied her blindfold and looked at the others behind her, her grey eyes as dark as an oncoming storm.

"How did you do that?" said the male in amazement.

"I took gymnastics," said the female, "I just never expected to use them though. I quit a little while ago." She began to untie the boy first, unlashing his hands from the chairs. She then turned to the other female and untied her hands, along with the male. Once everyone had been untied they all looked at each other for a while.

"Name's Terry," said the male, "in case we die before we get out of here."

"Cheryl." said the red-head.

"I'm Laurel." the blonde replied. Then they all turned to the boy, silent still although the gag had been removed.

"Who are you?" asked the blonde. The child struggled to make words, but forced them out after a few seconds.

"M-my name's Sean," the boy said sheepishly. A new voice was thrust from the darkness.

"Well now," said the voice, "look what we have here. My prizes have escaped." The only thing that was seen from the shadow was a shiny piece of metal. A tray gleamed and was thrust out of the shadow. Then came a leg and an arm, and the rest of the body following. It was the man in purple. He had a sadistic gleam in his eyes, the grin of a devil, yet was able to make it look casual.

"This," he said, "is quite a surprise." He quickly snapped into a state of rage, like someone had just flipped a switch inside him.

"Why is it that children don't understand that it is no use to escape!? That is the problem with children. They don't know how to stay put! They don't understand that it makes it difficult for everyone when they don't stay put!" All of them stared at the man who quickly became a devil. His voice was filled with enough gasoline and venom to kill anything and then burn it afterwards. His eyes had fire dancing behind them, his face contorting into an unearthly scowl. Yet just as fast as it was there, it was gone. Instead of expression, there was nothing but a blank slate. He looked at all the children with glazed eyes and held the tray in front of him. He took something off of the tray and then dropped it. It made a large clattering sound, which made the four flinch. A blade reflected a dull light from it. A large cleaver was seen in his hand.

"I," stated the man in a deep voice "will be the thing you fear the most." He took a step forward. He took another step, and another. The four had been frozen in fear for the most part. They had tensed up and were still trying to process what to do. Suddenly, Terry dashed forward, and then a spout of blood was seen. The cleaver was lodged in his shoulder, and a shout of rage, fear, and pain not a second after. Blood leaked from his shoulder like a fountain. The other three looked on in horror. Cheryl rushed towards Terry, but was stopped by the man in purple, who quickly connected his fist to her jaw.

Cheryl fought back, despite the blow. She jabbed the man in his gut and kicked him backward. Laurel then began to fight with Cheryl, kicking the man in his jaw and side. Sean then began to run towards Terry, who was bleeding profusely from his wound. He was paling as he lay on the floor, slipping towards unconsciousness. Sean shook Terry to try to keep him awake. The man was getting hit, but was regaining the fight. He took Laurel, and picked her up by the throat and threw her over to the side. He then focused on Cheryl who tried to punch the man in the stomach again. He grabbed her arm, and punched her in her nose, then kneed her in her stomach. She fell over and the man kicked her in the stomach for good measure.

He focused on Sean, who was still trying to keep Terry conscious. The man pushed Sean aside and grabbed his cleaver. Terry sucked in air through his teeth. He wanted to scream or do something, but he was too drained to do anything. The cleaver being pulled out of his shoulder felt like fire. The man then buried the cleaver in the male's head. He then pulled the cleaver out and stared at the male. The male twitched and blinked with his mouth moving and he was still moaning. Then he was still and silent.

The man became enraged again, holding the bloody blade in his hand. He turned towards the other three, who were still lying on the floor with blood splatted on his uniform and face. Cheryl was regaining her senses again and Sean was lying there in sheer horror of what had happened. Laurel was regaining her breath and was looking at the man.

"All of you," the man started, "need to be taught some decency. Why must all children be so damn horrible!? There is no excuse for it!" His eyes were wide, and a horrible smile was plastered on his face. He was completely delusional. His head snapped to each child. Laurel was switching her eyes between the body and a set of stairs to her left. They all knew that they couldn't beat this deranged lunatic. They all wondered whether or not they should just give up. They were all shook, and the man would kill them anyway. He's not stupid enough to leave the door to their freedom locked.

Laurel stood up cautiously and then did something that even surprised the man: she sat down in one of the chairs. No one said anything. Cheryl and Sean both knew what she was doing was absolute suicide, but both of them knew that it wouldn't do any good to just run around and keep trying to fight, unless of course they wanted to die tired. Sean decided to follow along. He sat up and put his hands together. Cheryl then stood up and reluctantly followed the two, sitting in the other chair.

The man looked at the children, and didn't say a word. He however did not tie them up. He just walked over to the tray that he had carried the cleaver on, gathered everything that was on the tray, and walked out of the room without saying a word, making sure he locked the door behind him. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened. What had just occurred was something that he wasn't sure whether or not he liked. He was used to them putting up a fight. He knew that he had won, yet he didn't feel satisfied.

He decided tomorrow he would lure another to fill the spot of the dead male. He needed one more child.


	3. Another One Added to the Collection

Hours had passed, or at least it felt like such for the three in the basement. No one knew what to do other than try to talk about anything but the inevitable. The three began talking about their families and fantasies, likes and dislikes that sort of thing.

"Anyone got the time?" asked Cheryl. The other two shook their heads, and then they all looked over at the corpse of Terry. Sean crawled over to it and searched Terry's wrists. Terry had a silver strap on his right wrist. Sean then took the watch off of Terry and looked at the time.

"Watch says one thirty-five." he announced. Sean looked at the watch and then back to Terry. It felt wrong to take a dead man's watch, but it wasn't like Terry was going to be using it anytime soon. They were all just counting moments to their demise. Cheryl decided to break the silence of the room. She stood up and looked at the other two.

"What do you think he's going to do?" It was a question that no one else wanted to ask, much less answer.

"Whatever he does," Laurel said, "I just hope he does quickly. I don't want to be stuck down here any longer than I have to. It makes me feel like an animal."

"Well," started Sean, "we are animals. Caged and put on lock down until we get butchered or someone else finds us." They were all silent after that. They heard a creak open and each quickly shot their gazes in the direction of the door. The man was standing at the door, but with another child and a box of pizza.

The child was male and looked in between the ages of Cheryl and Sean. His hair was light brown, almost like hot chocolate, and his skin looked very pale. He was unconscious and had a black eye. He wore a black hoodie and slightly loose jeans. He wore boots that looked like steel-toes that were very dirty. Mud was almost caked on the bottom of his boots. The man dropped the body onto the floor and the pizza. None of them had realized how hungry they were until the saw the box. Sean's stomach growled and Cheryl had started to chew on her cheek, but even though Laurel was nearly starving, she just looked at the boy. The man dropped the boy and the box and then walked out of the room. All three of them crawled towards the door. Cheryl went for the door, Sean went for the pizza and Laurel went for the boy.

Cheryl jiggled the doorknob, finding it to be locked. _Of course_ , she thought to herself, _what did I think was going to happen?_ Sean opened the pizza box and pulled out a slice. He handed it over to Cheryl who looked at the slice with disgust, but was so hungry she took a bite as soon as she got her hands on it.

"You want a slice Laurel?" Sean asked. Laurel was making sure the boy wasn't dead, searching for a pulse from his wrist. She looked over to Sean after confirming the boy was alive.

"Please." she said kindly, despite their situation. Sean took out a slice of pizza and handed it to Laurel. She looked at it then set it on her leg for time being. She looked at the boy who seemed charming enough. Sean took out his own slice and dug in just as Cheryl finished hers and was reaching for another slice. Laurel nibbled her pizza and sat there, wondering what the man needed with five children.

"You know him?" Cheryl asked.

"No," replied Laurel, "but he seems familiar." Almost like the boy could hear them, he started to stir after they had started talking. He partially opened his eyes and then nearly threw his back against the door and hit his head upon seeing Laurel. He rubbed the back of his head, curling into a ball, either trying to avoid what had just happened, tend to his head, or both.

"Um," Laurel said sheepishly, "hi." The boy peeked up at Laurel. She almost immediately noticed his eyes. They were a dark shade of purple, and Laurel stared at his eyes. She caught herself in the act and blinked a few times, looking away from the boy. Cheryl and Sean had stopped eating to look at the other two. The boy curled back into his ball and started to rock back and forth, mumbling something barely audible.

"Hey," said Cheryl, "how ya doing?" The boy looked at Cheryl and then noticed Sean, and then shot up and ran away from the door, scaring the rest of them. Laurel dropped her pizza on the floor, Cheryl saved hers and Sean dropped his into the box. The boy ran in front of the wall, and then ran back to the door, shaking the doorknob furiously. They all thought the doorknob was going to break. He stopped after a few seconds and then ran back to the opposite side of the room, and rammed himself into the door. After it didn't work, he ran to the opposite wall again and then rammed himself into the door. He tried this one more time and then slumped against the door, obviously defeated. He curled back into a ball and then sobbed silently. They all stared at each other, then at the boy. Sean was the first to speak to him after a moment of his sobbing.

"Hey," Sean started quietly, "uh, what's your name?" The boy peaked up from his ball, his eyes glassy from crying. He didn't say anything at first, but decided to speak against himself.

"V-Vincent." he said, his voice cracking and muffled from his distress and his hoodie. He sniffled and looked at all of them, who stared back in pity, except for Cheryl, who stared solely at his eyes. Laurel pointed at Cheryl.

"That," she said, "is Cheryl." She then pointed at Sean.

"That's Sean. And I'm Laurel." The boy just glanced at all of them a few seconds longer.

"Where are we?" the boy sniffled. That made them look at each other, like they were silently arguing amongst themselves. Then they all turned towards Vincent.

"None of us really know." she said. Vincent buried himself in his hoodie again. They all looked at each other again. Cheryl then reached over and gave the boy a hug.

"I-it's ok," she stuttered, "we're gonna be fine." They all listened to that statement ring through the room and into the walls. They all knew it was a promise none of them could ever keep.


	4. Change of Plans (Book Collapse)

Okay, so obviously I've kinda given up on this one, but mainly because the fandom kinda fell out once the last game came out as many of you guys know. I have been thinking about going off this broken bandwagon and onto another one, but I need help with it. I need to know one thing: how many of you like Zootopia? Leave a review or whatever and I will get back to you ASAP. Understand, however, that this doesn't mean that I will give an immediate response because life. Thank you guys and have a wonderful day.


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